CN114340026A

CN114340026A - Handling configured and active grants after feeder link path updates

Info

Publication number: CN114340026A
Application number: CN202111177411.4A
Authority: CN
Inventors: R·梅代罗斯·德阿莫林; I·科瓦克斯; 袁平
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2020-10-10
Filing date: 2021-10-09
Publication date: 2022-04-12
Also published as: WO2022073218A1

Abstract

Systems, methods, devices, and computer program products for handling configured and active grants after a feeder link path update. A User Equipment (UE) may receive a message indicating a Timing Advance (TA) modification procedure or the UE may detect a TA modification. The UE may check whether the TA modification is a reverse modification. If the check yields a positive result, the UE may check whether its configured grant, configured timer, and/or procedure is affected within a threshold. If the check results in a positive result, the UE may apply an offset to the affected configured grant, timer, or procedure. The network node may detect UE operation based on detecting that the UE cannot reach the time slot scheduled for the UE in time after applying the TA modification.

Description

Handling configured and active grants after feeder link path updates

Technical Field

Some example embodiments may generally relate to mobile or wireless communication systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) or fifth generation (5G) radio access technologies or new air interface (NR) access technologies, or other communication systems. For example, certain embodiments may relate to systems and/or methods for handling configured and active grants after a feeder (feeder) link path update.

Background

Examples of mobile or wireless communication systems may include Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), Long Term Evolution (LTE) evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN), LTE-Advanced (LTE-a), MulteFire, LTE-a Pro, and/or fifth generation (5G) radio access technology or new air interface (NR) access technology. The 5G wireless system refers to a Next Generation (NG) radio system and network architecture. The 5G is primarily built on the new air interface (NR), but the 5G (or NG) network can also be built on the E-UTRA radio. It is estimated that NR can provide bit rates on the order of 10-20Gbit/s or higher and can support at least enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) and ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) as well as massive machine type communication (mtc). NR is expected to provide ultra-wideband and ultra-robust, low-latency connections and large-scale networks that support internet of things (IoT). As the internet of things and machine-to-machine (M2M) communication become more prevalent, the demand for networks that meet the demands of low power consumption, low data rates, and long battery life will continue to grow. It is noted that in 5G, a Node that can provide radio access functionality to user equipment (i.e. similar to an eNB in Node B in UTRAN or LTE) can be named gNB when established on NR radio and NG-eNB when established on E-UTRA radio.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first embodiment, a method may comprise receiving one or more parameters associated with timing advance modification from a network node. The one or more parameters may include at least: a threshold and an offset. The method may include determining whether to apply an offset to the uplink transmission to delay the uplink transmission. The method may include applying an offset to the uplink transmission to delay an uplink transmission time of the uplink transmission based on determining to apply the offset.

In one variant embodiment, the method may comprise checking whether the timing advance modification comprises an increase in the gap between the downlink reference time and the uplink transmission time for the uplink transmission. In a variant embodiment, the method may comprise checking if there are one or more active scheduling grants, timers or procedures that are affected by the timing advance modification based on a threshold. In a variant embodiment, one or more active scheduling grants, timers or procedures may be associated with the uplink transmission.

In one variant embodiment, the threshold-based check may further comprise comparing the modified uplink transmission time to a threshold. In one variant embodiment, the modified uplink transmission time may be modified based on the uplink transmission time and the timing advance. In one variant embodiment, the threshold-based check may further include determining that there are one or more active scheduling grants, timers, or procedures that are affected by the timing advance modification based on the uplink transmission time being within the threshold. In one variant embodiment, the method may comprise realigning uplink transmission timing of the user equipment. In a variant embodiment, realigning the uplink transmission time may include adjusting a start time of a first symbol (symbol) of the uplink transmission time based on the offset and performing one or more operations for uplink transmission. In a variant embodiment, determining whether to apply the offset may further include determining not to apply the offset to the uplink transmission.

In a variant embodiment, the threshold may be a cell-specific threshold or a user equipment-specific threshold. In a variant embodiment, the offset may comprise one or more transmission slots. In a variant embodiment, the offset may be equal to zero. In one variant embodiment, determining whether to apply the offset may further include determining not to apply the offset, and the method may further include determining to skip the uplink transmission and performing one or more operations for a subsequent uplink transmission.

According to a second embodiment, a method may include transmitting one or more parameters associated with timing advance modification. The one or more parameters may include at least a threshold and an offset. The method may comprise detecting that the one or more user equipments are unable to reach the scheduled transmission time unit for the one or more user equipments in time after applying the timing advance modification. The method may include determining that one or more user equipments have delayed uplink transmission based on one or more parameters.

In a variant embodiment, the threshold may be a cell-specific threshold or a user equipment-specific threshold. In a variant embodiment, the offset may comprise one or more transmission slots. In a variant embodiment, the threshold may be configured such that all of the one or more user devices apply the offset, or the threshold may be configured such that a subset of the one or more user devices apply the offset. In one variant embodiment, the threshold may be configured to avoid collisions between one or more user devices and may be based on a probability that one or more user devices are affected.

In a variant embodiment, the offset may be configured such that the affected user equipment does not affect one or more other user equipment allocations. In one variant embodiment, the method may further include determining not to mark the uplink transmission as a failed uplink transmission and determining to wait until a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity for the UL transmission or another UL transmission.

A third embodiment may be directed to an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform the method according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment or any variant embodiment discussed above.

The fourth embodiment may relate to an apparatus which may comprise circuitry configured to perform a method according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment or any variant embodiment discussed above.

A fifth embodiment may be directed to an apparatus, which may comprise means for performing the method according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment or any of the variant embodiments discussed above. Examples of the apparatus may include one or more processors, memories, and/or computer program code to cause performance of operations.

The sixth embodiment may be directed to a computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the method according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment or any of the variant embodiments discussed above.

The seventh embodiment may relate to a computer program product encoding instructions for performing at least the method according to the first embodiment or the second embodiment or any of the variant embodiments discussed above.

Drawings

For a proper understanding of the exemplary embodiments, reference should be made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

figure 1 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method for handling configured and active grants after a feeder link path update, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method according to some embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method according to some embodiments;

FIG. 4a shows an example block diagram of an apparatus according to an embodiment; and

fig. 4b shows an example block diagram of an apparatus according to another embodiment.

Detailed Description

It will be readily understood that the components of certain exemplary embodiments, as generally described and illustrated in the figures herein, could be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations. Thus, the following detailed description of some example embodiments of the systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer program products for handling configured and active grants after a feeder link path update is not intended to limit the scope of certain embodiments, but is instead representative of selected example embodiments.

The features, structures, or characteristics of the example embodiments described throughout this specification may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. For example, use of the phrase "certain embodiments," "some embodiments," or other similar language throughout this specification refers to the fact that: a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiments may be included within at least one embodiment. Thus, appearances of the phrases "in certain embodiments," "in some embodiments," "in other embodiments," or other similar language throughout this specification are not necessarily all referring to the same group of embodiments, and the described features, structures, or characteristics may be combined in any suitable manner in one or more example embodiments. Further, the phrase "a group" refers to a group that includes one or more of the referenced group members. Thus, the phrases "a set," "one or more," and "at least one," or equivalent phrases, may be used interchangeably. Further, "or" is intended to mean "and/or" unless explicitly stated otherwise.

Further, if desired, the different functions or operations discussed below may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, one or more of the described functions or operations may be optional or may be combined, if desired. Accordingly, the following description should be considered as merely illustrative of the principles and teachings of certain exemplary embodiments, and not in limitation thereof.

The 5G NR non-terrestrial network (NTN) may include NR cells provided by Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellites, geostationary orbit (GEO) satellites, or High Altitude Platforms (HAPS). The 3GPP NR may provide multiple NTN satellite scenarios. However, transparent architecture deployments may cause certain problems.

In a transparent architecture, the UE may connect to the gNB located on the ground through a satellite link (e.g., satellite/HAPS) using 5G NR radio access technology. In this case, the gNB Media Access Control (MAC) functions (scheduling, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processes, retransmissions, etc.) may be on the ground and the satellite may act as a relay node (relay). The link between the UE and the satellite may comprise a service link, and the link between the satellite and the gNB may comprise a feeder link.

Compared to traditional cellular networks, the NTN transparent setup may be different from the 5G NR solutions previously used for terrestrial networks. For example, the NTN transparency settings may differ in latency. The latency experienced in LEO NTN transparent networks can be as high as tens of milliseconds (ms), which can be an order of magnitude higher than that of previous 5G system designs, even in the most conservative approach. The delay differences may also affect the reporting and adaptation mechanisms on the Physical (PHY)/MAC layer, since the information may be outdated when the receiver is eventually able to receive it. Furthermore, due to satellite movement, the transmission delays experienced by the UE (downlink (DL)) and the gNB (uplink (UL)) may vary over time. Thus, Timing Advance (TA) adjustment and synchronization can become more challenging compared to terrestrial networks.

Furthermore, the NTN transparent settings may differ in relative speed. The relative velocity of the LEO satellite with respect to the earth may be about 7,500 meters per second (m/s), which may be much higher than any conventional relative velocity observed between the UE and the gNB in a terrestrial network. This may affect the system in terms of doppler, but also more complex management of mobility events is necessary.

In NTN transparent networks, there may be problems related to maintenance of the correct UL TA in case of high mobility of the NTN relay node (LEO satellite or HAPS) triggering a mobility procedure that changes the feeder link. For example, there may be instances where the gNB may communicate with a UE using NR NTN access by using a relay in a first satellite and a second satellite that orbit. In that case, the total physical layer delay may depend on the time for the path of information to travel from the gNB to the NTN gateway to the first satellite to the second satellite to the UE. However, as the satellite moves in the orbital direction, the second satellite may move into the coverage area of the NTN gateway and the first satellite may move out of the coverage area of the NTN satellite. In this case, the feeder link path may be updated and inter-satellite link relays from the first satellite to the second satellite may be removed from the feeder path. The total elapsed time in the physical layer may then depend on the time required for the information to travel from the gNB to the second satellite to the UE, and this may be shorter than the time for the path from the gNB to the first satellite to the second satellite to the UE.

This modification in the feeder link path may indicate that the UE will need to resynchronize to the frame sent by the gNB. In this sense, the TA used by the UE in UL transmissions may undergo modification because the total feeder link path may change even if the serving link path remains constant (or nearly constant). One way to perform resynchronization may be to perform a new random access setup, but this solution may present some drawbacks. For example, the UE may need to discard HARQ processes, flush buffers, and discard grants for UL configuration and UL active grants, which may increase interruption time (particularly in view of processing/latency that may be spent in the setup process). In addition, since UEs within a cell are affected by feeder path changes, the UEs may need to re-perform the synchronization procedure, and this may result in increased PHY load due to the newly triggered access procedure. Furthermore, if many UEs have to perform the random access procedure at the same time, this may increase the contention probability for the random access procedure or may increase the time to accommodate the UE in non-contention resources. Further, given the high speed of the satellite (e.g., about 7,500m/s), the UE may be exposed to multiple mobility events (e.g., feeder link path switching, handoff (handoff), satellite switching, etc.) within a relatively short time interval, such as the satellite passing over the coverage area. Therefore, minimizing data interruption time in each of these events may improve communications for the NTN transparent network.

The modifications in the TA described above may have an impact on the authorization of the UE configuration. If the modification is backward in time (e.g., the total delay of the physical layer increases after feeder link path switching), the UE may have to increase the gap between the DL reference time and its UL timing. In other words, the UE may have to move the reference timing for the start of the UL frame backward. A scenario where the UE has a UL grant (or other configured procedure) to perform for a short time may present problems. In these scenarios, the new time of the process may be moved to the point where the UE has passed. This process cannot be performed because past actions cannot occur. Before the modification, the UE may perform UL transmission at the beginning of the system frame #1(SF #1), but the network may inform the UE that there has been a modification in the TA that needs to be applied before SF # 1. For a new TA, which may be larger than the initial TA, the offset between DL and UL may increase and from the UE's perspective, the start of SF #1 in the UL direction may now be before the current time. As can be appreciated from the above, it may be desirable to handle this type of situation to improve the communication of the NTN transparent network by, for example, retaining UL grants and/or minimizing data interruptions.

Some embodiments described herein may provide for processing configured and active grants after a feeder link path update. For example, certain embodiments described herein may enable a UE to use a configured grant or send HARQ feedback missed by TA modification (miss). In some cases, this may help to improve communication in the NTN transparent network.

In particular, certain embodiments described herein may provide certain operations from the UE after undergoing and/or detecting a TA modification. According to one embodiment, the gNB may broadcast one or more parameters for operation (e.g., with respect to Radio Resource Control (RRC), NTN-specific System Information Blocks (SIBs), or in a TA modification related message). In some embodiments, the parameters may include a threshold (e.g., a configured authorization time threshold) that indicates which users should adjust their configured authorization based on the time of the next configured authorization. Additionally or alternatively, in one embodiment, the parameter may include an offset (e.g., a deferral offset for a next configured grant) indicating how much time offset to add to a missed transmission opportunity (e.g., at the next configured grant). These parameters may be assumed to be available in cell-specific and/or UE-specific levels. For larger cells (e.g., having a radius of about 50-100 kilometers (km)), using UE-specific settings may be used to differentiate operation between users. However, the embodiments described herein are not limited to larger cells and may be applied to cells having a radius of less than 50km or greater than 100 km.

According to one embodiment, the UE may receive a message indicating a TA modification procedure or the UE may detect a TA modification. The UE may check whether the TA modification is a reverse modification. If the check is a positive result, the UE may check whether its configured grants, configured timers and/or procedures are affected within a threshold. If the check is a positive result, the UE may apply an offset to the affected configured grant, timer, procedure, or other timing relationship. The network node may detect UE operation based on detecting that the UE cannot reach a time slot (or another transmission time unit, such as a symbol or subframe) scheduled for the UE in time after applying the TA modification. In this way, the UE may not send for a configured grant and may send at the next configured grant without interrupting the sending at the next configured grant. Some UEs may defer their transmissions by the offset and only those UEs whose grants will be missed may defer their transmissions.

Figure 1 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method 100 for handling configured and active grants after a feeder link path update, in accordance with some embodiments. For example, fig. 1 illustrates the operation of a UE and a network node (e.g., a gNB). As shown at 102, the network node may determine that a change in feeder link path is required. For example, the network node may determine that the satellite may have to be removed from the feeder link path and may have to switch to another feeder link path or an inter-satellite link path. As shown at 104, the network node may signal a TA modification of the UE to the UE (e.g., a new initial TA value having a value greater or less than a previous TA value). For example, the network node may trigger certain operations in the UE with respect to feeder link path changes by signaling (signaling) a TA modification to the UE. In some embodiments, the network node may signal the amount of time for the TA modification and at what point in time to apply the TA modification. In certain embodiments, in connection with the operations shown at 104, the network node may signal one or more parameters associated with TA modification (e.g., offsets and thresholds described elsewhere herein).

As shown at 106, the UE may check whether the TA modification includes an increase in the gap between the DL reference time and the UL transmission time for the UL transmission. For example, the UE may check whether the TA modification is a time-backward modification. If the check returns a negative result (106 — NO), the UE may exit the operations shown with respect to the method 100 at 108 (e.g., may not continue to perform the operations shown at 110). If the check returns a positive result (106 — yes), the UE may check, based on the threshold, at 110, whether there is an active scheduling grant (e.g., a configured grant or other type of grant), timer, or process (e.g., a HARQ feedback process) that is affected by the TA modification, where the configured grant, timer, and/or process may be associated with the UL transmission. For example, the UE may compare the timing for UL transmissions plus TA modifications to a threshold. The UE may determine that the UL transmission is affected by the TA modification if the time for the UL transmission plus the TA modification is in a timeslot within a threshold.

As described elsewhere herein, the threshold may be configured by the network node to be as aggressive or conservative as desired in terms of causing the UE to detect the affected UL transmission. In some embodiments, the threshold may be cell-specific (e.g., identically applied to different UEs within a cell) or may be UE-specific (e.g., different for different UEs even within the same cell). If the timer associated with the configured grant or procedure is set to a value of 0, the value of the threshold may be considered large enough for any UE that has reached operation without exiting operation at 110 to determine that the configured grant or procedure is affected.

If the check returns a negative result (110 — no), the UE may exit the operations of method 100 at 108 (e.g., may not proceed to the operations shown at 112). If the check returns a positive result (110-yes), the UE may defer UL transmission by the offset at 112. For example, the UE may defer UL transmission for K slots, where the K slots may be indicated by an offset. Although certain embodiments are described in the context of a slot, the embodiments may also be applied to a subframe, symbol, or other type of transmission time unit. The offset may be defined differently for the UE and the network node. If the offset is set to a value of 0, the UE may determine not to defer the UL transmission opportunity, may determine to skip the UL transmission opportunity, and may perform one or more operations for a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity.

As shown at 114, after applying the TA modification, the network node may detect that the UE cannot reach the scheduled time slot for the UE in time. The network node may then determine from the parameters signaled to the UE that the UE has delayed the UL transmission. After determining that the UL transmission is delayed, the network node may determine not to mark the UL transmission as a failed UL transmission and may determine to wait until a subsequent UL transmission opportunity of the UL transmission or another UL transmission.

As described above, fig. 1 is provided as an example. Other examples are possible according to some embodiments.

With respect to certain embodiments described herein, a network node (e.g., a scheduler of the network node) may help ensure that delays in transmissions from a UE or a group of UEs do not result in conflicts with allocations to other UEs in a cell. For example, the network node may configure the offset such that the affected UE does not affect another UE allocation. Additionally or alternatively, the network node may configure the threshold to avoid collisions between UEs taking into account the difference between the small value threshold and the large value threshold. For example, a small value threshold may be conservative and may only result in UEs with a high probability of being affected being deferred. In contrast, a large value threshold may be less conservative and may be used to defer some UEs that will experience collisions with some other deferred UEs. Additionally or alternatively, the network node may also create UE specific parameters to also cause some frequency offset on the allocation after the delay.

The network node may signal the parameters to the UE in various ways. For example, for cell-specific parameters, these parameters may be included in the SIB broadcast message (e.g., it may be part of the SIB configuration or added as part of the NTN-specific SIB). In certain embodiments, these parameters may be included in SIBs dedicated to large propagation delay settings (e.g., NTN SIBs that introduce cell common delay parameters). If TA modification related signaling in the cell is broadcast to multiple UEs simultaneously, it may contain fields that include these parameters.

For UE-specific parameters, the network node may signal these parameters by means of an RRC reconfiguration message. For example, the parameter may be included in a ServingCellConfigCommon Information Element (IE). The signaling may include fields containing these parameters if the signaling for the TA modification cell is broadcast to the UE at the same time. In certain embodiments, the parameters may be included in a format index of a MAC Control Element (CE) that uses one or more reserved formats, such as reserved indices 33-46 in Table 1 below:

table 1: MAC CE index and area set identifier (LCID) value

In some embodiments, the MAC CE for the TA (e.g., index 61 in table 1 above) may be used to send the parameters to the UE. In this case, if the network node identifies/sends a TA modification, the UE and the network node may determine that the UE should interpret certain MAC CEs as transmitting one or more parameters instead of transmitting a TA command.

In some embodiments, the parameters may be signaled at the cell level, but may be reconfigured at the UE level for better flexibility. In this case, one or more parameters may be updated for the UE to distinguish from the cell-level configuration. This may be done, for example, when one or more UEs must have different modified settings to avoid resource conflicts, or when a quality of service (QoS) parameter must have a faster response than other parameters.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method 200 according to some embodiments. For example, fig. 2 illustrates an example operation of a network node (e.g., the apparatus 10 illustrated in and described with respect to fig. 4 a). Some of the operations shown in fig. 2 may be similar to some of the operations shown in fig. 1 and described with respect to fig. 1.

In one embodiment, the method may include, at 202, transmitting one or more parameters associated with timing advance modification, for example, in a manner similar to that described at 104 of fig. 1. The one or more parameters may include at least a threshold and an offset. The method can include, at 204, detecting that one or more user equipments are unable to timely reach a scheduled transmission time unit (e.g., time slot) for the one or more user equipments after applying the timing advance modification, e.g., in a manner similar to that described at 114 of fig. 1. The method can include, at 206, determining that one or more user equipments have delayed uplink transmission based on one or more parameters.

The method illustrated in fig. 2 may include one or more additional aspects described below or elsewhere herein. In some embodiments, the threshold may be a cell-specific threshold or a user equipment-specific threshold. In some embodiments, the offset may include one or more transmit slots. In some embodiments, the threshold may be configured to cause all of the one or more user devices to apply the offset, or the threshold may be configured to cause a subset of the one or more user devices to apply the offset. In some embodiments, the threshold may be configured to avoid collisions between one or more user devices and may be based on a probability that one or more user devices are affected.

In some embodiments, the offset may be configured such that the affected user equipment does not affect one or more other user equipment allocations. In some embodiments, the method may further include determining not to mark the uplink transmission as a failed uplink transmission and determining a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity to wait until the UL transmission or another UL transmission.

As described above, fig. 2 is provided as an example. Other examples are possible according to some embodiments.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example flow diagram of a method 300 according to some embodiments. For example, fig. 3 illustrates an example operation of a UE (e.g., the apparatus 20 shown in fig. 4b and described with respect to fig. 4 b). Some of the operations shown in fig. 3 may be similar to some of the operations shown in fig. 1 and described with respect to fig. 1.

In one embodiment, the method may include, at 302, receiving one or more parameters associated with timing advance modification from a network node, e.g., in a manner similar to that described at 104 of fig. 1. The one or more parameters may include at least a threshold and an offset. The method can include, at 304, determining whether to apply an offset to the uplink transmission to delay the uplink transmission. The method can include, at 306, applying an offset to the uplink transmission to delay an uplink transmission time of the uplink transmission based on determining to apply the offset.

The method illustrated in fig. 3 may include one or more additional aspects described below or elsewhere herein. In some embodiments, the method may comprise checking whether the timing advance modification comprises an increase in the gap between the downlink reference time and the uplink transmission time for the uplink transmission, e.g. in a manner similar to that described at 106 of fig. 1. In some embodiments, the method may include checking whether there are one or more active scheduling grants, timers, or procedures affected by timing advance modification based on a threshold, e.g., in a manner similar to that described at 110 of fig. 1. One or more active scheduling grants, timers or procedures may be associated with the uplink transmission. In some embodiments, the threshold-based check may further include comparing the modified uplink transmission time to a threshold and determining that there are one or more active scheduling grants, timers, or procedures affected by the timing advance modification based on the uplink transmission time being within the threshold. The modified uplink transmission time may be modified based on the uplink transmission time and the timing advance. The method may include realigning uplink transmission times of the user equipment. Realigning the uplink transmission time may include adjusting a start time of a first symbol of the uplink transmission time based on the offset and performing one or more operations for uplink transmission.

The determination at 304 may include determining not to apply an offset to the uplink transmission. The threshold may be a cell-specific threshold or a user equipment-specific threshold. The offset may include one or more transmit slots. When the offset is equal to 0, the determination at 304 can include determining not to apply the offset, and the method can further include determining to skip the uplink transmission and performing one or more operations for a subsequent uplink transmission.

As described above, fig. 3 is provided as an example. Other examples are possible according to some embodiments.

Fig. 4a shows an example of an apparatus 10 according to an embodiment. In one embodiment, the apparatus 10 may be a node, host or server in a communication network or a node, host or server serving such a network. For example, the apparatus 10 may be a network node, a satellite, a base station, a node B, an evolved node B (enb), a 5G node B or access point, a next generation node B (NG-NB or gNB), and/or a WLAN access point associated with a radio access network such as an LTE network, a 5G or NR. In some example embodiments, the apparatus 10 may be an eNB in LTE or a gNB in 5G.

It should be understood that in some example embodiments, the apparatus 10 may comprise an edge cloud server as a distributed computing system, where the server and radio node may be separate apparatuses communicating with each other via a radio path or via a wired connection, or they may be located in the same entity communicating via a wired connection. For example, in some example embodiments where the apparatus 10 represents a gNB, it may be configured in a Central Unit (CU) and Distributed Unit (DU) architecture that divides the gNB functionality. In such an architecture, a CU may be a logical node that includes gNB functions such as transmission of user data, mobility control, radio access network sharing, positioning, and/or session management, etc. The CU may control the operation of the DUs(s) through the forwarding interface. The DU may be a logical node containing a subset of the gNB functions, depending on the function splitting option. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the device 10 may include components or features not shown in fig. 4 a.

As shown in the example of fig. 4a, the apparatus 10 may include a processor 12 for processing information and executing instructions or operations. The processor 12 may be any type of general or special purpose processor. In practice, the processor 12 may include, for example, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Although a single processor 12 is shown in FIG. 4a, multiple processors may be used according to other embodiments. For example, it should be understood that in some embodiments, device 10 may include two or more processors that may form a multi-processor system that may support multiple processes (e.g., in which case processor 12 may represent multiple processors). In some embodiments, multiprocessor systems may be tightly coupled or loosely coupled (e.g., to form a computer cluster).

The processor 12 may perform functions associated with the operation of the device 10 that may include, for example, precoding of antenna gain/phase parameters, encoding and decoding of individual bits forming a communication message, formatting of information, and overall control of the device 10, including processing related to management of communication or communication resources.

The device 10 may also include or be coupled to a memory 14 (internal or external) that may be coupled to the processor 12 for storing information and instructions that may be executed by the processor 12. The memory 14 may be one or more memories and of any type suitable to the local application environment and may be implemented using any suitable volatile or non-volatile data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and/or removable memory. For example, memory 14 may be comprised of any combination of Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), static memory such as a magnetic or optical disk, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or any other type of non-transitory machine or computer readable medium. The instructions stored in memory 14 may include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by processor 12, enable device 10 to perform tasks as described herein.

In one embodiment, the device 10 may also include or be coupled to a (internal or external) drive or port configured to accept and read external computer-readable storage media, such as an optical disk, a USB drive, a flash drive, or any other storage media. For example, an external computer readable storage medium may store a computer program or software that is executed by processor 12 and/or device 10.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 10 may also include or be coupled to one or more antennas 15 for transmitting and receiving signals and/or data to and from the apparatus 10. The apparatus 10 may also include or be coupled to a transceiver 18 configured to transmit and receive information. The transceiver 18 may include multiple radio interfaces that may be coupled to the antenna 15, for example. The radio interface may correspond to a variety of radio access technologies including one or more of GSM, NB-IoT, LTE, 5G, WLAN, Bluetooth, BT-LE, NFC, Radio Frequency Identifier (RFID), Ultra Wideband (UWB), MulteFire, and the like. The radio interface may include components such as filters, converters (e.g., digital-to-analog converters, etc.), mappers, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) modules, and so on, to generate symbols for transmission via one or more downlinks, and to receive symbols (e.g., via an uplink).

Accordingly, transceiver 18 may be configured to modulate information onto a carrier waveform for transmission by antenna 15 and demodulate information received via antenna 15 for further processing by other elements of apparatus 10. In other embodiments, the transceiver 18 may be capable of directly transmitting and receiving signals or data. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the apparatus 10 may include input and/or output devices (I/O devices).

In one embodiment, memory 14 may store software modules that provide functionality when executed by processor 12. The modules may include, for example, an operating system that provides operating system functionality for device 10. The memory may also store one or more functional modules, such as applications or programs, to provide additional functionality for the device 10. The components of the apparatus 10 may be implemented in hardware or any suitable combination of hardware and software.

According to some embodiments, the processor 12 and the memory 14 may be included in or may form part of a processing circuit or a control circuit. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the transceiver 18 may be included in or may form part of a transceiver circuit.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to a purely hardware circuitry implementation (e.g., analog and/or digital circuitry), a combination of hardware circuitry and software, a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuitry and software/firmware, any portion of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor) having software that works together to cause a device (e.g., device 10) to perform various operations, and/or a hardware circuitry and/or processor or portion of a processor that operates using software but which software may not be present when operation is not required. As a further example, as used herein, the term "circuitry" may also encompass an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its accompanying software and/or firmware. The term circuitry may also encompass, for example, a baseband integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network node or device, or other computing or network device.

As noted above, in certain embodiments, the apparatus 10 may be a network node or RAN node, such as a base station, access point, node B, eNB, gNB, WLAN access point, or the like.

According to certain embodiments, the apparatus 10 may be controlled by the memory 14 and the processor 12 to perform functions associated with any of the embodiments described herein, such as some of the operations shown in fig. 1 and 2 or described with respect to fig. 1 and 2. For example, the apparatus 10 may be controlled by the memory 14 and the processor 12 to perform the method of fig. 2.

Fig. 4b shows an example of an apparatus 20 according to another embodiment. In one embodiment, the apparatus 20 may be a node or element in a communication network or a node or element associated with such a network, such as a UE, Mobile Equipment (ME), mobile station, mobile device, fixed equipment, IoT device, or other device. As described herein, a UE may alternatively be referred to as, for example, a mobile station, a mobile device, a mobile unit, a mobile device, a user device, a subscriber station, a wireless terminal, a tablet, a smartphone, an IoT device, a sensor or NB-internet of things device, a watch or other wearable device, a Head Mounted Display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and its applications (e.g., tele-surgery), an industrial device and its applications (e.g., robots and/or other wireless devices operating in industrial and/or automated processing chain environments), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on a commercial and/or industrial wireless network, etc. As one example, the apparatus 20 may be implemented in, for example, a wireless handheld device, a wireless add-in, etc.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus 20 may include one or more processors, one or more computer-readable storage media (e.g., memory, storage devices, etc.), one or more radio access components (e.g., modem, transceiver, etc.), and/or a user interface. In some embodiments, the apparatus 20 may be configured to operate using one or more radio access technologies such as GSM, LTE-A, NR, 5G, WLAN, WiFi, NB-IoT, Bluetooth, NFC, MulteFire, and/or any other radio access technology. It should be noted that one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the apparatus 20 may include components or features not shown in fig. 4 b.

As shown in the example of fig. 4b, the apparatus 20 may include or be coupled to a processor 22 for processing information and executing instructions or operations. The processor 22 may be any type of general or special purpose processor. In fact, the processor 22 may include, for example, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a Digital Signal Processor (DSP), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Although a single processor 22 is shown in FIG. 4b, multiple processors may be used according to other embodiments. For example, it should be understood that in some embodiments, apparatus 20 may include two or more processors that may form a multi-processor system that may support multiple processes (e.g., in which case processor 22 may represent multiple processors). In some embodiments, multiprocessor systems may be tightly coupled or loosely coupled (e.g., to form a computer cluster).

Processor 22 may perform functions associated with operation of apparatus 20 including, as some examples, precoding of antenna gain/phase parameters, encoding and decoding of individual bits forming a communication message, formatting of information, and overall control of apparatus 20, including processing relating to management of communication resources.

The device 20 may also include or be coupled to a memory 24 (internal or external) that may be coupled to the processor 22 for storing information and instructions that may be executed by the processor 22. The memory 24 may be one or more memories and of any type suitable to the local application environment and may be implemented using any suitable volatile or non-volatile data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and/or removable memory. For example, the memory 24 may be comprised of any combination of Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), static memory such as a magnetic or optical disk, a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), or any other type of non-transitory machine or computer readable medium. The instructions stored in memory 24 may include program instructions or computer program code that, when executed by processor 22, enable apparatus 20 to perform tasks as described herein.

In one embodiment, the apparatus 20 may also include or be coupled to a (internal or external) drive or port configured to accept and read external computer-readable storage media, such as an optical disk, a USB drive, a flash drive, or any other storage media. For example, an external computer readable storage medium may store a computer program or software that is executed by processor 22 and/or device 20.

In some embodiments, the apparatus 20 may also include or be coupled to one or more antennas 25 for receiving downlink signals and for transmitting from the apparatus 20 via the uplink. The apparatus 20 may also include a transceiver 28 configured to transmit and receive information, the transceiver 28 may also include a radio interface (e.g., a modem) coupled to the antenna 25. The radio interface may correspond to a variety of radio access technologies, including one or more of GSM, LTE-A, 5G, NR, WLAN, NB-IoT, Bluetooth, BT-LE, NFC, RFID, UWB and the like. The radio interface may include other components, such as filters, converters (e.g., digital-to-analog converters, etc.), symbol demappers, signal shaping components, Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) modules, etc., to process symbols, such as OFDMA symbols, transmitted by the downlink or uplink.

For example, transceiver 28 may be configured to modulate information onto a carrier waveform for transmission by antenna 25 and demodulate information received via antenna 25 for further processing by other elements of apparatus 20. In other embodiments, transceiver 28 may be capable of transmitting and receiving signals or data directly. Additionally or alternatively, in some embodiments, the apparatus 20 may include input and/or output devices (I/O devices). In some embodiments, the apparatus 20 may also include a user interface such as a graphical user interface or a touch screen.

In one embodiment, memory 24 stores software modules that provide functionality when executed by processor 22. The modules may include, for example, an operating system that provides operating system functionality for device 20. The memory may also store one or more functional modules, such as applications or programs, to provide additional functionality for the apparatus 20. The components of the apparatus 20 may be implemented in hardware or any suitable combination of hardware and software. According to an example embodiment, the apparatus 20 may optionally be configured to communicate with the apparatus 10 via a wireless or wired communication link 70 according to any radio access technology, such as NR.

According to some embodiments, the processor 22 and the memory 24 may be included in or may form part of a processing circuit or a control circuit. Furthermore, in some embodiments, the transceiver 28 may be included in or may form part of a transceiver circuit. As described above, the apparatus 20 may be, for example, a UE, a mobile device, a mobile station, an ME, an IoT device, and/or an NB-IoT device, in accordance with some embodiments. According to certain embodiments, the apparatus 20 may be controlled by the memory 24 and the processor 22 to perform functions associated with any of the embodiments described herein, such as some of the operations shown in fig. 1 and 3 or described with respect to fig. 1 and 3. For example, in one embodiment, the apparatus 20 may be controlled by the memory 24 and the processor 22 to perform the method of FIG. 3.

In some embodiments, an apparatus (e.g., apparatus 10 and/or apparatus 20) may comprise means for performing the methods discussed herein or the methods of any variant embodiment, as described with reference to fig. 2 and/or 3. Examples of an apparatus may include one or more processors, memories, and/or computer program code to cause performance of operations.

Accordingly, certain example embodiments provide several technical improvements, enhancements and/or advantages over prior art processes. For example, one benefit of some example embodiments is improved handling of TA modifications in transparent NTN networks. Thus, the use of some example embodiments results in improved functionality of the communication network and its nodes, thus constituting at least an improvement in the technical field of NTN network communication and/or operation.

In some example embodiments, the functions of any of the methods, processes, signaling diagrams, algorithms, or flow diagrams described herein may be implemented by software and/or computer program code or portions of code stored in memory or other computer-readable or tangible medium, and executed by a processor.

In some example embodiments, the apparatus may be included or associated with at least one software application, module, unit or entity configured as an arithmetic operation, or a program or portion thereof (including added or updated software routines), executed by at least one operating processor. Programs, also referred to as program products or computer programs, including software routines, applets, and macros, may be stored in any device-readable data storage medium and may include program instructions to perform particular tasks.

The computer program product may include one or more computer-executable components configured to perform some example embodiments when the program is run. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or a portion of code. Modifications and configurations to implement the functionality of the example embodiments may be performed as routines, which may be implemented as added or updated software routines. In one example, a software routine may be downloaded into the device.

By way of example, the software or computer program code or portions of code may be in source code form, object code form, or in some intermediate form, and it may be stored on some carrier, distribution medium, or computer-readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying the program. Such a carrier may comprise, for example, a record medium, computer memory, read-only memory, an optical and/or electrical carrier signal, a telecommunication signal and/or a software distribution package. Depending on the required processing power, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer, or it may be distributed over several computers. The computer-readable medium or computer-readable storage medium may be a non-transitory medium.

In other example embodiments, the functions may be performed by hardware or circuitry included in a device (e.g., apparatus 10 or apparatus 20), such as by using an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), a Programmable Gate Array (PGA), a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA), or any other hardware and software combination. In yet another example embodiment, the functionality may be implemented as a signal, such as an intangible means carried by an electromagnetic signal that is downloaded from the Internet or other network.

According to example embodiments, an apparatus such as a node, a device or a corresponding component may be configured as a circuit, a computer or a microprocessor, such as a single chip computer element, or as a chip set, which may comprise at least a memory for providing storage capacity for arithmetic operations and/or an operation processor for performing arithmetic operations.

The example embodiments described herein are equally applicable to both singular and plural implementations, regardless of whether the language used in the singular or plural is used in connection with describing certain embodiments. For example, embodiments describing the operation of a single network node are equally applicable to embodiments comprising multiple instances of network nodes, and vice versa.

One of ordinary skill in the art will readily appreciate that the example embodiments as discussed above may be practiced with hardware elements in different sequences of operations and/or in different configurations than those disclosed. Thus, while some embodiments have been described based upon these example embodiments, it would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that certain modifications, variations, and alternative constructions would be apparent, while remaining within the spirit and scope of the example embodiments.

Part of the vocabulary

HAPS high altitude platform

LEO low earth orbit

NTN non-terrestrial network

UE user equipment.

Claims

1. A method for communication, comprising:

receiving, from a network node, one or more parameters associated with timing advance modification, wherein the one or more parameters include at least:

a threshold value, and

an offset;

determining whether to apply the offset to an uplink transmission to delay the uplink transmission; and

applying the offset to the uplink transmission to delay an uplink transmission time of the uplink transmission based on determining to apply the offset.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

checking whether the timing advance modification comprises an increase in a gap between a downlink reference time and the uplink transmission time for the uplink transmission; and/or

Checking whether there are one or more active scheduling grants, timers or procedures affected by the timing advance modification based on the threshold, wherein the one or more active scheduling grants, timers or procedures are associated with the uplink transmission.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein checking based on a threshold further comprises:

comparing a modified uplink transmission time to the threshold, wherein the modified uplink transmission time is modified based on the uplink transmission time and the timing advance; and

determining that there are the one or more active scheduling grants, timers or procedures affected by the timing advance modification based on the uplink transmission time being within the threshold.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, further comprising:

realigning an uplink transmission time of the user equipment.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein realigning the uplink transmission time comprises:

adjusting a start time of a first symbol of the uplink transmission time based on the offset; and

performing one or more operations for the uplink transmission.

6. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein determining whether to apply the offset further comprises:

determining not to apply the offset to the uplink transmission.

7. The method according to any of claims 1-3, wherein the threshold is a cell-specific threshold or a user equipment-specific threshold.

8. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the offset comprises one or more transmit slots.

9. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the offset is equal to zero,

wherein determining whether to apply the offset further comprises:

determining not to apply the offset; and is

Wherein the method further comprises:

determining to skip the uplink transmission; and

one or more operations for a subsequent uplink transmission are performed.

10. A method for communication, comprising:

transmitting one or more parameters associated with timing advance modification, wherein the one or more parameters include at least:

a threshold value, and

an offset;

detecting that one or more user equipments cannot reach a scheduled transmission time unit for the one or more user equipments in time after applying the timing advance modification; and

determining that the one or more user equipments have delayed uplink transmission according to the one or more parameters.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the threshold is a cell-specific threshold or a user equipment-specific threshold.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the offset comprises one or more transmit slots.

13. The method of any of claim 10, wherein the threshold is configured to cause all of the one or more user devices to apply the offset, or wherein the threshold is configured to cause a subset of the one or more user devices to apply the offset.

14. The method of any of claim 10, wherein the threshold is configured to avoid collisions between the one or more user devices and is based on a probability that the one or more user devices are affected.

15. The method of any of claims 10-14, wherein the offset is configured such that an affected user equipment does not affect one or more other user equipment allocations.

16. The method according to any one of claims 10-14, further comprising:

determining not to mark the uplink transmission as a failed uplink transmission; and

it is determined to wait until a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity for the UL transmission or another UL transmission.

17. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code,

the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:

a threshold value, and

an offset;

18. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory including computer program code,

a threshold value, and

an offset;

detecting that the one or more user equipments cannot reach a scheduled transmission time unit for the one or more user equipments in time after applying the timing advance modification; and

19. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for receiving one or more parameters associated with timing advance modification from a network node, wherein the one or more parameters include at least:

a threshold value, and

an offset;

means for determining whether to apply the offset to an uplink transmission to delay the uplink transmission; and

means for applying the offset to an uplink transmission time for the uplink transmission based on determining to apply the offset.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, further comprising:

means for checking whether the timing advance modification comprises an increase in a gap between a downlink reference time and an uplink transmission time for an uplink transmission; and/or

Means for checking whether there are one or more active scheduling grants, timers or procedures affected by the timing advance modification based on the threshold, wherein one or more active scheduling grants, timers or procedures are associated with the uplink transmission.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the means for checking based on the threshold further comprises:

means for comparing a modified uplink transmission time to the threshold, wherein the modified uplink transmission time is modified based on the uplink transmission time and the timing advance; and

means for determining that there are the one or more active scheduling grants, timers, or procedures affected by the timing advance modification based on the uplink transmission time being within the threshold.

22. The apparatus of any of claims 19-21, further comprising:

means for realigning uplink transmission times of the user equipment.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein means for realigning the uplink transmission time comprises:

means for adjusting a start time of a first symbol of the uplink transmission time based on the offset; and

means for performing one or more operations for the uplink transmission.

24. The apparatus of any of claims 19-21, wherein means for determining whether to apply the offset further comprises:

means for determining not to apply the offset to the uplink transmission.

25. The apparatus of any of claims 19-21, wherein the threshold is a cell-specific threshold or a user equipment-specific threshold.

26. The apparatus of any of claims 19-21, wherein the offset comprises one or more transmit slots.

27. The apparatus of any of claims 19-21, wherein the offset is equal to zero,

wherein the means for determining whether to apply the offset further comprises:

means for determining not to apply the offset; and is

Wherein the method further comprises:

means for determining to skip the uplink transmission; and

means for performing one or more operations for a subsequent uplink transmission.

28. An apparatus for communication, comprising:

means for transmitting one or more parameters associated with timing advance modification, wherein the one or more parameters include at least:

a threshold value, and

an offset;

means for detecting that the one or more user equipments cannot arrive in time at a scheduled transmission time unit for the one or more user equipments after applying the timing advance modification; and

means for determining that the one or more user equipments have delayed uplink transmission based on the one or more parameters.

29. The device of claim 28, wherein the threshold is a cell-specific threshold or a user equipment-specific threshold.

30. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the offset comprises one or more transmit slots.

31. The apparatus of any of claims 28, wherein the threshold is configured such that all of the one or more user equipment apply the offset, or wherein the threshold is configured to cause a subset of the one or more user equipment to apply the offset.

32. The apparatus of any of claims 28, wherein the threshold is configured to avoid collisions between the one or more user devices and is based on a probability that the one or more user devices are affected.

33. The apparatus of any of claims 28-32, wherein the offset is configured such that the affected user equipment does not affect one or more other user equipment allocations.

34. The apparatus of any of claims 28-32, further comprising:

determining to wait until a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity for the UL transmission or another UL transmission.

35. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing the method of any of claims 1-16.